


Just a Soft Nudge

by tikii



Category: Octopath Traveler (Video Game)
Genre: Bonding, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I also cry over Therion everytime, I cry everytime over Alfyn im not joking, M/M, Spoilers For Alfyn Chpater 2, can be read as either platonic or romantic whatever floats your boat, vanessa isn't a good person ew
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-07-10 20:39:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15957107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tikii/pseuds/tikii
Summary: In which Alfyn needs comfort, and surprisingly, Therion finds himself giving that comfort





	Just a Soft Nudge

**Author's Note:**

> HI IM NOT DEAD  
> So I've been playing octopath traveler recently and   
> a) i cried about the main theme so you can have an idea of how emotional this game makes me  
> b) i'm on everyone's chapter 2's   
> c) i love this game so much  
> i really liked the dynamic between Alfyn and Therion bc they're polar opposite and it's just more like a sibling relationship or a romantic relationship (have you seen the travel banters, though ?? no one is straight istg) so i decided to write about it !! im sorry if it seems a bit ooc i havent written in a long time and im just getting into the groove of it again!!   
> so without furthur ado  
> enjoy !!

Boy - that sure was a surprise and a half.

 

Therion was even kind of surprised that he was caught off guard by this. Looking back at it, he should’ve noticed all the signs. Her body language, the way she spoke, the mischievous glint in her eyes - he should’ve seen it sooner. Yet, he didn’t, and here they were sitting in the darkness of the cave, Alfyn tending to H’annit with shaking hands and Therion trying to coax Primrose awake.

 

With Primrose awake and H’annit okay, the group picked up the herb that Alfyn needed to make the remedy and began to make their way back to Goldshore in complete silence, leaving the sleeping Vanessa behind. The silence was getting very, very weird, so Therion decided to ask Alfyn what he intended to do about the woman they just fought. Alfyn answered with all the energy he usually had, but it wasn’t the same for some reason. Biting his lower lip, Therion told him to ‘be careful’ and tried to act indifferent.

  
Alfyn got to work the second they got back, and while the other three stayed in the inn, the apothecary set out to help everyone who needed the remedy.

 

And he never came back.

 

Therion wasn’t the type to worry. At all. He hadn’t felt the feeling of worry in a long time. But there was just something about the look in Alfyn’s eyes that made his heart just squeeze painfully. The albino looked over towards the two girls who were sleeping peacefully, leaning up against one another. They wouldn’t notice if he was gone, right? If he got back before they woke up, it would be like he never left.

 

(But he wasn’t leaving because he was worrying about Alfyn, dear gods no - he was just wondering what was taking him so long. They needed to get to the next village, after all.)

 

Taking an apple, Therion set out of the inn, closing the door carefully behind him and taking a bite of the shiny fruit. He looked around town for a little bit, then settled for asking the locals if they had seen an apothecary around somewhere (he may or may not have stolen some things on the way. Don’t say anything if he was seen throwing an empty coin patch up and down at one point.). He got nothing, until one brunette girl told him that she saw the ‘nice apothecary’ sitting at the beach. Therion thanked the girl (reluctantly) and made his way down town and towards the steps that lead to the golden sand.

 

The wind blew (ugh, how cliché) as the thief slowly sat down next to the apothecary, trying to make as little noise as possible (at which he so excelled). He knew that Alfyn had seen him, but he wasn’t saying anything. When they went to Stillsnow and Primrose was having a rough time, Alfyn kept on telling him to wait until she spoke. They had to wait until she was ready to speak (she ended up speaking to H’annit, but to an emotionally constipated person like Therion, those words were meaningful to him. But it’s not like he would ever admit it or anything.).

 

And that’s exactly what Therion did. He waited. The gods know he was literally the most impatient person in the world, but this was different for some reason. The exact reason? He didn’t know himself. Maybe he would find out.

 

“...Fancy seeing you here. Do you need anything, Bud?” Alfyn’s voice startled Therion out of his thoughts (ironic). The apothecary still wouldn’t look at him. Therion bit back a comment about the nickname and spoke.

 

“Maybe. Primrose forced me to go and check for you. She said you were taking an ‘awful long time’” Therion imitated Primrose’s voice at the end, drawing a light chuckle from Alfyn. Good. Progress. “So yeah. What exactly are you doing here?”

 

“I’m just taking a small break, y’know? I’m exhausted.”

 

“Then why don’t you just come back to the inn?”

 

He got no reply. Therion raised an eyebrow, growing impatient. Even though he was a little bit concerned, most of him just wanted to get up and get out of here as quickly as they could, and they couldn’t just leave without Alfyn. “Hey, I just asked you a question. Why did you come here and not to the inn? That’s kind of stupid, honestly.” He spat, hoping that Alfyn would just go ‘oh, you’re right’ and then they would both go back to the inn, sleep, and talk about this on the way to the next town over (but part of him was hoping that Alfyn would just talk to him gods damn it. Stupid emotions.)

 

Once again, he was met with stony silence. Scoffing, the thief crossed his arms and sat facing the other way. Waiting was painfully boring, he thought to himself. If this had been anyone else, Therion wouldn’t have been here. That’s what made waiting so painful.

 

“...Am I doing something wrong, Therion?” Alfyn asked quietly, sounding so fragile that Therion’s heart squeezed painfully. And the fact that Alfyn called his real name? That didn’t sound good to him.

 

“...What do you mean?” The thief asked cautiously, slowly turning to face Alfyn. He still wouldn’t look at him.

 

“Am I doing something wrong?” He repeated the question again, his voice filled with so emotion that a feeling pushed itself into Therion’s throat and just wouldn’t go away. “Should I be charging people? Should I be so nice? I should probably clean up my appearance. That lady called me scruffy. Should I be firmer? Oh gods… Therion she was going to die.” Taken aback by his rambling, Therion wasn’t ready for that at the end.

 

"..”

 

“She was going to die. All of them were. Is someone really that cruel-hearted to let several people die? Die in pain? Did it not phase her once?” Alfyn continued rambling, his eyes showing nothing but pure anger. Therion was taken aback by that. Alfyn wasn’t really the kind to be angry, but it seemed that this event had left him shaken and angry. The albino turned to face Alfyn, a small grimace on his face.

 

“Okay, let’s calm down a bit.” Therion said cautiously. Alfyn responded to this by ducking his head in his knees and taking a shaky breath. “...Alfyn?” Now his shoulders were shaking. “Alfyn?? Are you crying?”

 

The dirty blonde sniffed and curled in on himself more, moving his arm across his eyes. “No! I-I just got some sand in my eyes, y’know?” The noise he made at the end sounded suspiciously like a small sob, but Therion wasn’t the one to pry. Hell, he was even uncomfortable with the situation as it was.

 

Which is why he was totally unprepared when Alfyn kind of tipped over and fell against him.

 

At first, he flinched. Real hard. ‘A little warning would have been nice!’ was a snap on the tip of his tongue, but it was quickly diffused when he heard another cut off sob from the apothecary. Alfyn needed… comfort… right now, and Therion needed to give it. Despite not giving someone comfort in a long time, he decided to think about what the other three would do in a situation (he looked up to them for guidance sometimes. He would never admit it, but it did come in handy often.)

 

Rolling his eyes (but by the gods he didn’t really mean that), Therion patted Alfyn on the shoulder awkwardly. “Damn it, you’re making me go a little soft, Alf.” He grumbled, hesitantly settling for rubbing circles into the other’s back. That got a small sniff and chuckle from the apothecary.

 

“Well shucks… I seem to have that effect on everyone. Sorry, Therion.”

 

“Don’t be.”

 

Therion looked away, feeling Alfyn’s gaze on him. He could feel his face heating up slightly as he quickly stuttered out, “Don’t think that means anything, though.”

 

“Wouldn’t think that at all.”

 

They sat in silence for a while, just watching the sunset and frowning at the rubble of wood on the shore. So much time had passed that Therion didn’t notice that Alfyn fell asleep on him until he heard a rather loud snore coming from the other male. He suppressed a snort and settled against him, knowing that he couldn’t really pick him up without jostling him.

 

Besides, this was a nice place to fall asleep.

****  
  
\---------------------------------------------------------

**  
** “...Well. Would you look at that?” Primrose chuckled softly as she leaned against H’annit, a smile on both of their faces. “How cute. He was worried.” 

 

"Indeed.” H’annit agreed with a nod. “We shouldst bringeth them back.” Primrose snorted into her hand and nodded.

 

“I’ll take Therion.”

 

"And I shall taketh Alfyn.” 

“Looks like Therion wasn’t that prickly after all… hmm. That’s something to keep in mind.”

**Author's Note:**

> crying in the background  
> don't kill me for H'annit's speech i don't know how to speak in cursive so i used a translator on google


End file.
